Private William McTaggart

Private William McTaggart

10th (Service) Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Service No: S/1663

379

3

4

0

33

Click here for a frameable A4 print

Personal details

Family Information

Son of William and Mary Ann Docherty McTaggart of 93 High St, Rothesay, Bute. William's brother Gunner John McTaggart (300489) of the Royal Garrison Artillery, 4th Highland Mountain Brigade Died of Wounds at the 52nd General Hospital in Salonika on the 19/10/1918 and is buried at Mikra British Cemetery (561), Kalamaria, Greece. William had 2 other younger brothers, George (who was serving) and Thomas. He also had a sister named Agnes.

Born / Resided

Rothesay, Bute / 26 Ronald St, Coatbridge

Died

Killed in Action on the 25/09/1915 on the opening day of the Battle of Loos

Enlisted

Hamilton 1914

Employed

Baker in the Dividend Stores, Airdrie

Age

24 / DOB - 26/07/1891

Buried / Remembered

Loos Memorial (Panel 125 to 127), Pas de Calais, France

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The Loos Memorial commemorates over 20,000 officers and men who have no known grave, who fell in the area from the River Lys to the old southern boundary of the First Army, east and west of Grenay, from the first day of the Battle of Loos to the end of the war. On either side of the cemetery is a wall 15 feet high, to which are fixed tablets on which are carved the names of those commemorated. At the back are four small circular courts, open to the sky, in which the lines of tablets are continued, and between these courts are three semicircular walls or apses, two of which carry tablets, while on the centre apse is erected the Cross of Sacrifice.

Additional Information

The Battalion arrived at Boulogne on the 11/05/1915 and were part of the 27th Brigade, 9th (Scottish) Division. William arrived in France on the 08/06/1915. He was Killed in Action on the opening day of the Battle of Loos, 25th September - 15th October 1915 : The first genuinely large scale British offensive action but once again only in a supporting role to a larger French attack in the Third Battle of Artois. British appeals that the ground over which they were being called upon to advance was wholly unsuitable were rejected. The Battle is historically noteworthy for the first British use of poison gas. The Battle from 07.05 till noon 25/09/1915 : The centre - 9th (Scottish) Division had to attack the formidable obstacle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt and Fosse 8, the high location of the main enemy observation posts looking across the whole battlefield. Preparations had included Russian saps to close the distance to be covered, and effective observed heavy shelling. The lead units of 26th Brigade suffered casualties as they cleared the gas and smoke, but advanced through well-cut wire to quickly take the front face of the Redoubt. The 7th Battalion Seaforths reached Fosse Trench ' the rear of the redoubt ' soon after 7.00am, and pressed on towards Fosse 8. The afternoon in the Auchy area : The attack of 9th (Scottish) Division had by mid-morning succeeded in reaching and occupying the enemy trench network around the Hohenzollern Redoubt and Fosse 8, and also Pekin Trench. During the afternoon, the garrison of Pekin Trench came under heavy shellfire, and German infantry began a bombing attack, starting at the Haisnes-Auchy road and working Southwards while others worked North from Cite Trench. Despite being reinforced by the 6/Royal Scots Fusiliers, the superiority of German grenades soon told, and the position was gradually retaken. By 5.00pm, half of it had been lost, and the remaining men were ordered to withdraw in the dark. Unfortunately many returned as far as the original German front line, leaving a very confused picture around Fosse Alley, which became the new British front line. The advanced field batteries were ordered back to the positions they had left earlier in the day. 01.00am 26/09/1915 : A heavy attack by the German 117th Division was launched against the forward units of 7th and 9th Divisions between the Vermelles-Hulluch road and Fosse 8. It achieved complete surprise, catching wiring parties and isolated sections unawares. On the right, 20th Brigade pulled all advanced units back to the protection of Gun Trench. In the centre, the most forward units were in a shallow trench a hundred yards ahead of the Quarries. Their left had no contact with the 27th Brigade of 9th Division, which was somewhere away on their left. A reorganisation of scattered and mixed-up units was underway, under shellfire that included gas shells, when the German attack hit. The enemy entered the Quarries through the undefended gap to the North, and much confused and hand to hand fighting took place. By 1.30am the British troops had lost the Quarries. The 9th (Scottish) Division casualties between 25/09/1915 and 16/09/1915 : 6,058 of which 190 Officers. William fell on the opening day of the Battle of Loos which claimed many men listed on the Memorial. He was 1 of 99 men from the Coatbridge Memorial who fell during and from injuries from the Battle of Loos. Scottish Regiments lost a huge amount of brave men at Loos. Here is a list of Infantry Battalions who lost more than 500 men at the Battle of Loos from 25/09/1915 to 16/10/1915 - 7th Cameron Highlanders 687, of which 19 Officers, 9th Black Watch 680, of which 20 Officers, 6th King's Own Scottish Borderers 650, of which 20 Officers, 10th Highland Light Infantry 648, of which 20 Officers, 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers 631, of which 20 Officers, 8th Devons 619, of which 19 Officers, 8th Royal West Kents 580, of which 24 Officers, 8th Buffs 558, of which 24 Officers, 12th Highland Light Infantry 553, of which 23 Officers, 8th Black Watch 511, of which 19 Officers, 5th North Staffordshire 505, of which 20 Officers, 8th Seaforth Highlanders 502, of which 23 Officers. William is listed as 3rd BATTALION on the Coatbridge Memorial. William is remembered on the St. Patrick's Church Roll of Honour and the in the St. Patrick's (book) Roll of Honour and on the Rothesay War Memorial as is his brother John (see photos). See photos for William's Medal Index Card, his CWGC Grave Registration, his name on the Loos Memorial Panel List, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his name on the Loos Memorial, his Service Medal and Award Rolls x 2, his Service Records x 16, William's (and John's) Pension Records x 4 and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Cap Badge. Finally see photos for John's Medal Index Card, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his CWGC Grave Registration x 3, his Headstone Report, John's Grave and the Royal Garrison Artillery Cap Badge.

Photos

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